<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Among The Stars by ploThief</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109157">Among The Stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ploThief/pseuds/ploThief'>ploThief</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brotherly Bonding, Contest Entry, Except they grow, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, No beta we die like illiterates, Stargazing, Stars, The Author Knows Nothing About Telescopes, Turtle Tots (TMNT)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:29:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,148</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109157</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ploThief/pseuds/ploThief</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."</i>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donnie and Leo shoot for the stars.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Donatello &amp; Leonardo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Among The Stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt: Star</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey Donnie, what’s this book about?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took a lot of willpower for Donatello to turn away from the wires he was setting up for his new lab. His new, very own lab! When Master Splinter had given permission for the eight-year-old  to set up a room to work on bigger projects, not even Mikey could beat the sheer maniacal energy the little genius turtle expressed. Mikey had tried to of course, until he grew bored and ditched with Raph to play racecars in the lair. Leo stayed behind since for some unfathomable reason he actually liked cleaning.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now, the oldest turtle was holding out a textbook labeled ‘ASTRONOMY’, worn and stained like all the other textbooks their father had found in the dumpster near a bookstore. The cover was torn quite a bit at the bottom, but a picture of some nebulae could still be made out.</p>
<p>“Oh! Astronomy is the study of celestial objects such as planets and galaxies.” Donnie jumped off his chair to join his brother’s side, flipping through some of the pages to show off it's contents. “See? Here’s a model on the Sun’s layers, and over here is a star map of our Northern hemisphere in the summer.” He peeks up to see if Leo understood anything he was saying, and catches the constellations gleaming out of his brother's eyes.</p>
<p>“Wow, a book about space.” Leo breaths, tracing the path from one star to the next. He whips around and grabs his brother’s shoulders with a big grin, too excited to notice the textbook falling to the ground or the surprised yelp the younger gave. “Do you know what this means, Donnie? We can be just like Captain Ryan and his crew! We can learn to travel through space and fly spaceships and be <em>space heroes!</em>”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donnie didn’t want to be like Captain Ryan because he was a bully and his crew died a lot but exploring space did sound kind of fun. "I've always wanted to build a rocket ship." He admitted. "Though it’s going to take some time finding all the parts and making it."</p>
<p>"That's okay," Leo's grin grew and he drew his little brother in a tight hug. "I'll help you find the best parts for our ship. Now let's go Dr. Don." The eldest turtle's voice drops into his best impression of Captain Ryan as he pointed towards the door. "We've got to get the rest of the crew and save your stolen screwdriver from the Zorgarki aliens!"</p>
<p>"Don’t forget we need to save my girlfriend!" The younger turtle adds before to two race out of the room, ready to grab their brothers and take on their newest adventure.</p><hr/>
<p><br/>
Three years later, Donnie can calculate astrophysics in his sleep and has crafted hundreds of models for their spacecraft, but all trials lead him back to the drawing board. Leo has mapped the constellations on his bedroom ceiling and can identify all types of stars, but he can't wrap his head around magnetohydrodynamics.</p>
<p>It doesn't matter. Not when Donnie takes the time to explain the physics of space again and again, no matter how many times Leo gets confused. Or on nights where Donnie can't seem to fall asleep and knocks on Leo's door instead, where Leo always lets him in. From there they climb into bed, and talk.</p>
<p>Donnie talks about his latest spacecraft blueprints and shares the ideas swirling in his head. Leo points to his ceiling covered in glitter-glued paper stars and tells their stories from all around the world. They debate about wormholes. They imagine what adventures wait for them up above.</p>
<p>It's hard waiting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Do you really think that we will get to travel space one day?" Asked Donnie one night. "We haven't even been allowed to see the surface."</p>
<p>"Master Splinter says we will. Just once we're old enough." Trust in Leo to believe what Splinter says. Donnie however, wasn't so sure.</p>
<p>"Given the fact that Splinter's been saying that every year and we are giant, mutated turtles, old enough will probably be when we've reached thirty. Assuming our mutation elongated our lifespan beyond that of our species since..." the younger turtle would have rambled on longer, if not for Leo patting his shoulder reassuringly.</p>
<p>"Don't worry. Splinter would have to let us go up way before that. We'd kill each other otherwise."</p>
<p>"You mean Raph would kill us all."</p>
<p>Leo shrugged. "Probably, but Mikey's been experimenting again."</p>
<p>There was a moment of silence held for the suffering taste buds that had to endure last night's dinner. Mikey been trying to add flavor to their life of algae and worms, but at what costs?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I just want to see them at least." A whisper breaks into the silence.</p>
<p>Leo turns towards his brother. "See what?" He asks. Mahogany eyes continue to trace the crudely shaped star up above.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"The sky," The response comes out softly. Little fists crumple up the ratty blanket below. "The moon, the stars. Why can't I just get to see them? I know there's good reasons why we can't go up. I can name 74 of them right now. But I build all these inventions! I built a telescope!" A short burst of laughter rings out behind those words, no longer soft but sharp and full of something bitter. When those mahogany eyes finally turn to meet Leo, there's no trace of laughter in them.</p>
<p>"I built a telescope that I can't even use. Somedays I feel like I will never get to use it. There was no point at all."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"There's us." Leo says, and he wraps his brother into a hug because it's all he can do. Because he knows what Donnie is feeling, even if it's not to the same extent. He feels it when he practices his katanas and battle opponents who aren't there. When he dreams of traveling to jungles or Japan even when he knows they can only stay dreams. He feels it too when he watches TV with his brothers and notices that all the bad guys are different.</p>
<p>Inhuman.</p>
<p>Monsters.</p>
<p>Freaks.</p>
<p><br/>
<strike>And sometimes when the nightmares replace his brothers with those being booed at and locked away, he wonders what is the point if there's nothing for them up there at all.</strike>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"There's us," He repeats again into a tightening hug, because it's all he can promise. But his brother deserves better, so he makes another promise. "And you'll get to see the stars, Donnie. I'll make sure of it."</p>
<p>At this, Donnie let's go to stare at him. "Really? How?"</p>
<p>"Don't worry, little brother." Leo smiles, and entwines his third finger with the younger turtle's own.  A promise now sealed. "I'll find a way. Now, have I told you the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl?"</p>
<p>"About 38 times, but you can make it 39."</p>
<p>Leo smiles and starts the tale.</p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>"Donnie...Donnie wake up."</p>
<p>Bleary eyes blink open to a serious face inches away from his own.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donnie yelps loudly. Or he would have, if his mouth hadn't been covered by Leo's hand with a gesture to keep quiet.</p>
<p>"Do you want to wake up the others?" Leo whispers while he removes his hand, as if it was Donnie's fault for being awoken unexpectedly at an unreasonable time.</p>
<p>"Well excuse me, but I can't help it when the first thing I see is your lovely face" Donnie hisses, before glancing at the door and sighing. "Did you have to go lock picking at my door?"</p>
<p>"Of course," The older turtle says simply, slipping away his lock picking tools. "How else would I get better without practicing on the best lock in the lair?"</p>
<p>"Try doing it at reasonable hours of the day. Not waking up the person who is asleep in the room might help too."</p>
<p>Leo rolls his eyes. "Get up and grab your telescope. We're heading out."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now the younger turtle was fully awake. "You're joking."</p>
<p>"Yes Donnie, because breaking into your room and waking you up in the dead of night to sneak out for the first time in my life is my idea of comedy." With Donnie’s unimpressed stare, Leo's voice grew softer. "Look, I made a promise with you a while back. I intend to keep it. So we're going up to one of those forbidden places near the topside and finding a spot with a view to the stars."</p>
<p>"Now hold on.” For even a genius had a hard time wrapping his head around what was coming out of his brother’s mouth. “You, the golden boy, are willing to sneak out past curfew to an off-limit zone? I don't know whether to be shocked or worried."</p>
<p>The older turtle winces. "Try thankful that I even got this far. Just thinking about going against what master Splin-"</p>
<p>Leo clamps up quickly, because all the turtles knew that saying the name of their beloved sensei when trying not to get in trouble would no doubt summon him from who knows where and land them in heaps of trouble. to inflict divine punishment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After five agonizing minutes of waiting for Splinter to materialize from above and inflict divine punishment, nothing happens. They both release the breaths they were holding, and Leo tries again.</p>
<p>"Just thinking about doing this is eating my insides out. Let's just hurry before I remember that this is a horrible idea."</p>
<p>Donnie smiles before grabbing his duffle bagged telescope and stepping out of his room, reassuringly patting his regretting brother as he passes. "I'm sure a few days of being even more of a stickler for rules and nagging us will heal that up in no time."</p>
<p>"I guess," mutters the older turtle as he closes the door behind him, still not entirely convinced. “<em>And I do not nag!</em>”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Years of training kicks in, and the two silently make their way through the lair, past the turnstiles, and out into the sewers.</p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>"Come on, Donnie. We're almost there."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I'm coming, I'm coming." Donnie huffs as they continue trudging up another tunnel, their sloshing through the murky water echoing off grim-covered walls. Then he pauses. "Hey, Leo.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, Donnie?”</p>
<p>“Didn’t you say that we're going up near the topside to find a spot with a view to the stars?"</p>
<p>“Something like that, yeah.”</p>
<p>“If that’s the case, why did you say, ‘we’re almost there’?”</p>
<p>“I said that because we’re almost there to the near topside area.” Leo says a little too hurriedly. Then, because he can hear his brother’s eyes narrow, adds on. “You know, in general.”</p>
<p>Somehow, Donnie is not convinced. “Uh-huh. We could have been ‘almost there’ two tunnels ago. Yet you insisted that it was better to be farther away from the lair in case someone heard us. Funny enough, the one you decide we should come up is still pretty close to home.”</p>
<p>Leo stays quiet, which pretty much confirms what Donnie already guessed. “Leo…you’ve already gone up near the topside, haven’t you?”</p>
<p>"What? Noooo..."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Honestly, who was he kidding at this point? “<em>Leo</em>.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It wasn't my fault, okay?" Leo spins around with an exasperated look, spraying a few droplets of sewer water that Donnie shields his telescope bag from. “Raph kept on going off on his own on scavenger days and he wouldn’t tell me why! So I followed him one day-” </p>
<p>“-and he went up the here near the topside.” Donnie finishes for him. “Doesn’t explain why you had to go in yourself instead of running off to tattle like you do with everything else.” Leo shot him an annoyed glare</p>
<p>“I do not tattle about <em>everything</em>. Like that time you switched the book cover of one of Sensei’s romance novels with one of your science books so you could read it without anyone knowing? I kept quiet. Or that time Mikey-” </p>
<p>“What! You saw that?” Donnie sputters, nearly dropping the bag in the water. “When? How?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Didn’t you know? Big brother is always watching,” Leo waves his hand dismissively. “Anyways, that’s not the point. I followed him still to see if Raph was actually going up to the surface. He wasn’t, but he caught me following him. He started being a jerk, we fought, and then we came to an agreement.”</p>
<p>“I can imagine you were given the generous offer of being spared from a horrible, bloody demise if you kept your lips sealed.”</p>
<p>“There was the added bonus of not fighting over the remote with me for two weeks that sweetened the deal.” The blue-masked turtle smirks before returning on his original path. “After that, he showed me around some places he’d explored before and we had a pretty cool time. Now it’s our turn.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leo points towards the end of the tunnel, where Donnie can see a dim light peeking over the top, familiar as the far-off one in the dojo above at night, hidden behind a canopy of leaves. As they get closer, the light grows brighter, until Donnie is standing at the entrance of a new tunnel, one bathe in soft blue-white. Silver beams filter through giant slits of a massive storm drain up above, spilling through the darkness to paint the shape of a glowing rectangle on the sewer's ground.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"It has the best view to the sky.” A nudge gets Donnie out of his thoughts, and he turns towards his brother, who has the biggest smile plastered on his face. Donnie feels himself doing the same. “Ready to see the stars?"</p>
<p>"Do we live in a barred spiral galaxy?" He responds, and Leo groans good-naturally before running towards the storm drain, Donnie right on his tail. They hesitate along the invisible edge of where the rays bleach the tunnels, unwilling to give up the safety the shadows provide, listening for the faintest warning from up above.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When only the distant honking of a car greet their ears do they dare fall into temptation to step into the light.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Donnie has seen the moon before numerous of times, whether in textbook photos and passing videos. Yet they don't compare to the sheer novelty of seeing that pale crescent smiling softly down at him with his own eyes. He didn't care if there were bars limiting his view or how silly he looked, craning his neck just to absorb as much of the milky warmth on his skin. To see just how far the towering buildings went to brush against puffs of clouds scattered and still. And the sky! How humbling it was, to see just the curtain how truly vast it reached, knowing beyond lied an eternal space of curiosity and adventures to explore.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Where are the stars?"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leo's voice cut through the tranquility like a balloon pop, whizzing Donnie back on earth to blink dumbly at his brother. "Huh?"</p>
<p>"I can't..." Sapphire eyes glance through the night again and when they do not find it, shift back to Donnie with a worried expression. "I can't see any stars."</p>
<p>"We live in a major city, Leo." Donnie shrugged, his attention already returning back above. "Light pollution was a factored problem from the start."</p>
<p>"So you already planned away around this with your telescope, right?" Leo brightens. "That's great! Let's get it set up and -"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Well, there's a <em>slight</em> problem." The younger turtle admits sheepishly before the other can go further. He points to the the metal on the ceiling. "With the storm drain blocking our view, the telescope won't be able to pick up much of anything that's not already visible. Unless we can move grate, which is too high up and probably bolted anyways, there's no point in taking it out to see the stars."</p>
<p>"What? No, there has to be another way." Leo is pacing now, his feet disturbing the murky water into glittering ripples. An ideas strikes him and he starts moving around  the moonbeams, trying to catch all the angles of the sky the storm  drain had to offer. "You said if we can see it then the telescope can pick it up, so maybe if we can find one then- ah!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He points to something in the distance, nearly jumping in place from his newfound discovery.  "Come look, Donnie! A star! Quick, grab your- wait. Why is it moving?"</p>
<p>"Because it's not a star at all." The younger turtle burst into laughter as soon as he sees what Leo is pointing at. "It's a helicopter!" Or a plane, Donnie wasn't entirely sure, but that didn't make the mistake any less hilarious. And Leo's face afterwards? Priceless.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Stop laughing! The astronomy books didn't have a section on telling stars from helicopters at night, so how was I supposed to know that?" Leo huffs at the other's snickering form, green cheeks now red with embarrassment.</p>
<p>Donnie wipes the moisture from his eyes as he regains his composure.  "If you stopped watching Space heroes all the time, maybe you would know."</p>
<p>Leo's redden cheeks puff out even  more as he crosses his arms and turns away, knowing full well he can't deny it because it's true. "Fine. Keep wasting time laughing over there while I actually do something worthwhile like oh, I don't know, finding us some stars."</p>
<p>"Give it a rest, Leo!" Donnie snaps, good mood instantly souring from his brother's inane fixation. "I already explained that we can't see any because of light pollution. I don't know what has got your tail in such a twist that you..."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The words trail off as Donnie's thoughts drift to a particular night of paper stars and promises. They slide together between Leo's trivial insistence with a click. "You're trying to keep your promise, aren't you."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The blue masked turtle doesn't say anything, but Donnie catches a glimpse of how his embarrassment sinks to something lower and daresay fearful before his brother closes the curtains with practiced calmness. Donnie sighs and places a hand on his brother's shoulder.</p>
<p>"Leo, it's alright. We don't have to see the stars."</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Leo whirls around. "No Donnie. We-"</p>
<p>"We don't have to see the stars," Donnie stresses. "Because I know that one day you will show them to me when we can go up to the surface. Today, the moon and sky are plenty enough."</p>
<p>"Are you sure?" Blue eyes dart over Donnie's face, try to catch the barest traces of insincerity. They won't find any.</p>
<p>"Is the moon in synchronous rotation with the earth?" Donnie snorts before patting the duffel bag on his side. "Which reminds me...even though the view is going to be less than stellar, we can still use this baby to get some close ups on the moon."</p>
<p>"Then what are we waiting for?" Any tension that's left melts between Leo's smile, and Donnie responds with a grin of his own.</p>
<p>In the moonlight under a starless sky, the two young turtles get to work.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>*Slams down this story like the late assignment it is* Done! Thank you again for being so patient, Beansprout!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>